Conrad Black resentenced, gets 48 months

CHICAGO, June 24 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Chicago Friday ordered former media baron Conrad Black back to prison for defrauding investors of Hollinger International.

Black, 66, originally was sentenced to 78 months, but an appellate court decision last year threw out two of his fraud convictions. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve reduced Black's sentence to 48 months. He already has served 29 months.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Black's wife, Barbara, 70, fainted when the sentence was announced but was able to leave the courtroom unassisted.

"I've always tried to take success like a gentleman and disappointment like a man," Black said in court.

Defense attorneys told the judge Black has spent his time in prison tutoring and mentoring other inmates.

Black, a former owner of the Sun-Times, was released on bail after serving two years while his appeal was pursued. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago last year dismissed two of Black's fraud convictions but upheld another conviction for fraud and a conviction for obstruction of justice.